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If  I told you I was going to run around the local park, wearing a bib, being shouted at by a bloke in his 30′s, you might think I’d gone back to school for a P.E. lesson. But this is what hundreds of people do several times a week due the ingenius business plan of Major Robin Cope (retired).

The British Military Fitness program is run by former and serving British Forces personnel and takes place in public parks around the country. Groups of around twenty civilians are herded into healthy living by tough, yet patient, armed services trained PTI’s. Sessions last an hour and are graded into three levels of fitness so as not to overwork newcomers.

The first session is also free, so after watching the YouTube videos and being harassed by a mate, I went along to see what it’s all about. We turned up a bit late (my fault) and had to sign some bits of paper because our online registration hadn’t shown up on the day. Not a problem though – we were jogging off in our bibs a few minutes later. When asked how fit we were, the three of us were confident, given our regular jogging sessions and general high opinion of ourselves. We were vying to join the intermediate group. However, the instructor strongly recommended that we start with the beginners and, though it pains me to say it, he made a good judgement call.

The Physical Training Instructor Leads the Pressups

We followed our instructor into Inverleith Park in Edinburgh and began some warmups on the grass. Breaking into two ranks, the barrel-chested squaddie told us to jog on the spot and do certain exercises on his mark. We then did some sprinting games. Little did we know that the sprinting would continue for about another 50 minutes.

Space-age light cones were placed around the darkened football pitch, making it look like a runway at night. We then did some sprint / jog efforts followed by partnered sprint / jog efforts, followed by races against partners with very little “resting” time in between. For resting, read jogging on the spot.

The four points game was where I really started to rebel. After previously conniving with my partner to only race for the final leg of our sprint circuit, I was now faced with the prospect of explosive squats unless I could beat my fellow participants to the North-South-East-West points. It became a real trade off between sprinting and doing squats / press-ups. After a while, I realised that the instructor often turned his back on those doing the exercises and so wouldn’t count the reptitions. I gave up on sprinting and opted to do my own variation on the punishment exercises.

Thereafter followed bunny-hopping, backwards running, some strange bent-double lunge-walking which looked like Monty Python’s Ministry of  Silly Walks, or thirty people trying to sneak up on a spot of turf. Some team games gave another good opportunity to cut corners and, with a little bit organisation, win some much needed rests. The walk back to the meeting point was steady away as we warmed down and paused to stretch (still under instruction). After nearly a full hour of sprinting, I was aching but not obliterated. According to some of the others, sessions don’t always include so much sprinting. There is a lot of variation between sessions and instructors.

Over the next day I received an e-mail and a text giving the information I would need to sign up for monthly payments to BMF. In assessment this is a really good way to get very fit and also a good way to meet people. With the games and partnered exercises, there are loads of ways to make friends and chat – if you want to. The program is certainly challenging and you probably want to have a basic level of fitness before going along – Mr Motivator this is not. The instructor didn’t turn it into a scene out of Full Metal Jacket (see video) – but there was a definite drive to work hard.

I won’t be signing up and I never intended to, but I would recommend it – especially to those training for the Tough Guy Challenge or any similar extreme event. The peer pressure and instruction really help you to push your limits. There are sessions all around the country so there are no excuses. You can sign up for your free session here.

p.s. One bad point – we didn’t get to sing any army jogging chants. “I don’t know but I’ve been told…”